After covering the In Flames/Soilwork/Chimaira show here in Vancouver
the night before and getting home at 2:30AM, I had the pleasure of waking
up 3 short hours later to do a phone interview with Lacuna Coil singer,
Cristina Scabbia. Normally, getting me up after 3 hours sleep is like
pulling teeth but to talk to one of the most beautiful and talented voices
in metal today, I made an exception. I was her first interview of the day
and was greeted with a very pleasant, "Hello Sean! How are you this
morning?" She was lying in bed in her Boston hotel ready to get
grilled by yours truly on the eve of an upcoming North American tour with
Type O Negative and later Anthrax. I wasn't sure what to expect but
Cristina did give some interesting answers to my questions.

What exactly does "Lacuna Coil" mean?

Well, it is taken from 2 languages, actually. "Lacuna" means
"empty " in Italian. When we first formed the band, we were
called "Ethereal" but there was another band from Greece who
already had that name. Since we had to change our band's name, we thought
we would come up with something that still had the same meaning as
Ethereal but with no chance of someone else having the same name.

With
COMALIES out for a year now, Lacuna Coil is finding their greatest success
in North America. Is the band just as popular in Italy?

We have had tremendous success in our country. There are not a lot of
bands like us there.

Other than Rhapsody and White Skull, I can't think of any other
Italian metal bands off the top of my head.

There are some. Labyrinth, Rhapsody... Italy has many great bands that
have not broken yet.

There is an American band called Evanescence that just had their
album certified double platinum with sales of 2 million copies. Many
critics of the band say they are a rip-off of Lacuna Coil. Does their
success frustrate you at all since you have been around much longer?

I can't say anything negative about them because success is good. Good
for them. I will say that we have been putting out albums since 1997 and
the relationship we have with our label-with Century Media-is very good.
They are one of the largest labels for this type of music, but Evanescence
is on Sony who is much more powerful. They have much more ability to
promote a band which I think has helped them achieve their success. Also,
they have the song on a film soundtrack.

Lacuna Coil has toured with Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering in
the past. Do you think the bands are focused on first for being unique, in
that, you all have a female singer or for the music itself?

They are both great bands and we have become friends with them, good
friends. I hope we are thought of more for the music than just because
were are female.

Who were your musical influences?

I did not want to be a singer when I was a little girl. As I got older
it just kind of happened. I admire Black singers and how powerful their
voices are.

Do you mean singers like Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin?

Them too but some of the singers used for backup vocals in bands have
amazing voices. Very strong, powerful voices. I would love to do a tour
with all female singers! Not just metal but other types of music as well.

I know bands hate to label themselves as one type of music or
another but if you had to categorize Lacuna Coil's music, would consider
yourselves to be a Goth band or a Metal band?

We are definitely a metal band first with guitars but we also have a
lot of atmospheric sounds as well with keyboards. I think we are many
things but first we are a metal band.

Have you begun writing yet for the new album?

We have some song ideas down but nothing recorded yet. It's hard with
all the touring but we should have something out next year.

Speaking of touring, you are just about to begin a North American
tour, first with Type O Negative and then Anthrax. How did you hook up
with these bands?

Anthrax came to our show and we talked to them afterwards and they said
they are big fans of the band. The same with Type O Negative. We met
Johnny and Kenny and later Peter so we decided to tour together.

Type O Negative seems like they would have a lot of similar fans as
Lacuna Coil but Anthrax should bring out crowds that would not normally go
to see a Lacuna Coil show.

Yes, exactly. And that is good!

You have toured North America quite a bit for this album. I'm sure
this has benefited album sales. Do you get a good response from fans at
shows?

We have visited many cities in North America and they have all been
great. I'm sure the exposure we have been given here has helped out sales.
People are very happy to see us when we play.

You were actually scheduled to tour Canada in 2001 but had some
unfortunate luck with your tour bus and were forced to cancel. I live in
Vancouver but you have not been out this way yet? Any chances of a
Vancouver show soon?

Oh, Vancouver! Yes we hope to get there soon. The tour got cancelled
because of the tour bus company.

Many bands bypass Vancouver and will play in Seattle because they
can avoid the hassles at the border and we are only about 200 km to the
north. In Flames/Soilwork/Chimaira were here just last night and they were
held up at customs for 6 hours!

But that is part of the job! It shouldn't matter how long it takes.
That is no excuse. It is part of the job to see as many fans and cities as
possible.

You were rumored to be working on a side project with Eric Peterson
of Testament. Will that project ever see the light of day?

You know we try to get things going but it is hard with our schedules.
Eric visited me in Milan and we wanted to work together but we just
haven't found the time. Hopefully we will though, yes.

Many bands have spoken out against Internet music downloading. Some
have even gone so far as to blame it for poor album sales. What are your
thoughts on Napster and file-sharing sites?

You know, no one likes to work and not get paid for it. I understand
fans want to hear the songs but there should be something in place where a
person can pay for a song if they choose. This is a good idea.

Apple has recently developed this program where fans pay a dollar or
two for a song they wish to download. Is this the sort of thing that you,
as an artist, would advocate?

Exactly. This is how it should be.

Do you think it has affected Lacuna Coil's album sales?

I don't think so. Bigger bands who sell millions of albums and are more
well known have a much larger fan base so they may but not us.

What are you listening to right now?

The new Type O Negative album is amazing, LIFE IS KILLING ME. The new
Opeth album is very good too. DAMNATION is not as heavy as their others
but more acoustic. The Pain album is good. It is the side project of Peter
of Hypocrisy. I really like the new Disturbed CD, too.

Wow! You like a wide variety of music!

Yes, I listen to many different things.

Well thanks for your time, Cristina. It was a pleasure talking to
you so early in the day. Good luck with the tour and I hope to see Lacuna
Coil hit Vancouver soon!